Death by Starvation: The Ethics of VSED

In this episode, Dr. Tim Lahey discusses a case in which a young woman in extraordinary pain asks her doctors to help her die. She doesn’t qualify for medical aid in dying so she asks for help ending her life in another way.

*Content warning, this episode discusses suicide.

Tim Lahey, MD, MMSc, is an infectious disease physician and director of ethics at the University of Vermont Medical Center and professor of Medicine at UVM's Larner College of Medicine. Beyond scholarly publications about HIV, tuberculosis, ethics, and medical education, he has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, and beyond.